The number of cases of gonorrhea in New Hampshire has increased by two-thirds this year compared with 2015, apparently due to a strain of the sexually transmitted disease that resists treatment by antibiotics.
The Division of Public Health Services’ Bureau of Infectious Disease Control released a medical alert Monday, saying it received 206 reports of patients with gonorrhea through July 31.
“This is a 67 percent increase compared with the same timeframe in 2015,” the report said.
Part of the issue, it said, is that the bacteria which causes gonorrhea is increasingly resistant to the antibiotic azithromycin, long the treatment of choice. The alert urges healthcare providers to treat the disease with a shot of the antibiotic ceftriaxone as well as azithromycin taken orally.
The alert also says that screening for gonorrhea should be increased among a variety of population groups. Further, it says, “For all your patients, take a thorough sexual history to determine patient risk and need for (sexually transmitted disease) screening.”
David Brooks